Irate kindlers 1star carpet bomb Michael Connelly's new book

[Barty]

The hard cover version of the new M Connelly is priced 71c lower than the kindle version. yikes. People are unhappy and are letting the publisher know

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...itness&x=0&y=0

Methinks amazon is passive aggressively messing with the publisher here.

[Piper_]

I'm not happy with ebook prices overall, but I think it's misguided for those people to do what they're doing on new books like this.

It's a brand new release. They're paying a premium for that, like they would pay to see a movie at the theatre instead of waiting for the BluRay.

If they don't let them make [ETA to avoid further misunderstanding: by "make" I do not mean "charge" - they can charge less than half the pbook's list and still make the same, as noted below and in following posts.] at least close to the equivalent of what they make on the hardcover during that new release window, I'm afraid publishers will either stop putting out the ebook version until the window is passed, or they'll raise prices of mid and back list books, to make up for the difference.

As for using the star ratings, the problem is that it ruins other people's ability to use the rating to tell the quality of the book; the stars stay forever, even if the price drops.

Amazon needs a separate star category for "price" or "value."

Having said that, publishers do make a higher percentage off the ebook than the hardcover, so I would not support the price being equal, even during that window.

[tubemonkey]

New release ebooks should be priced at hardcover rates minus the costs it takes to print, bind, ship, and store the hardcover version.

It's utter nonsense to price them the same. There should be a noticeable difference in price.

[tubemonkey]

I love those one star reviews. They're making very valid points.

[Ron.]

It's amazing to see the publishing industry make all the same mistakes the music industry did, you would think they would of learned from them...

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by Piper_

If they don't let them make at least close to the equivalent of what they make on the hardcover during that new release window, I'm afraid publishers will either stop putting out the ebook version until the window is passed

That would be fine by me................ I wouldn't mind waiting, providing the "ebook release price" reflects the reality of "production costs", like paperbacks generally do.

And, as said elsewhere, it seems plain the publishing world needs to look at their music compatriots, and save themselves a lot of pain and hassle - although, as yet, the figures involved are obviously nowhere near the CD/download battleground.

Perhaps they're just making hay.......?

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

New release ebooks should be priced at hardcover rates minus the costs it takes to print, bind, ship, and store the hardcover version.

It's utter nonsense to price them the same. There should be a noticeable difference in price.

And minus the extra royalty they get in ebooks over paper.

That's how they can (and do) list them at a discount*, but still make more money on each ebook purchase, because they get 70% of the ebook sale, instead of 50%(?) from the pbook sale.

*In this case, the publisher lists the hardcover at $27 and the Kindle version at $14.99. Amazon discounts the hardcover to $14.28, but can't discount the Kindle version. So the ebook is 71 cents more expensive.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by Piper_

They're paying a premium for that, like they would pay to see a movie at the theatre instead of waiting for the BluRay.

Of course. And prices certainly may reflect that; still, there's no way to justify the ebook version being more expensive than the HC one. None whatsoever. I am not saying that one star reviews are the way to handle this, but I for one can certainly understand the annoyance.

Amazon needs a separate star category for "price" or "value."

That sounds like a sensible idea.

[HansTWN]

I wouldn't pay hardcover prices in any case. And I don't see any sense arguing on the basis of cost to the publisher. Same price seems fair enough for a brand new book. Including all discounts, of course. They have to make money somewhere, after all. But I consider an ebook that is priced higher than the hardcover to be a personal affront against my personal preference. This is a slap in the face for ebook buyers.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

New release ebooks should be priced at hardcover rates minus the costs it takes to print, bind, ship, and store the hardcover version.

It's utter nonsense to price them the same. There should be a noticeable difference in price.

So what, all these years they've had you fooled that the hardcover price was about production cost? Come on, wake up and smell the marketing.

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

That would be fine by me................ I wouldn't mind waiting, providing the "ebook release price" reflects the reality of "production costs", like paperbacks generally do.

Usually, I'm content to wait too, but I'd rather it be our choice.

I would have been really unhappy if I had no choice but to wait or try to read the hardcover of the long-awaited 5th in Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series.

And, as said elsewhere, it seems plain the publishing world needs to look at their music compatriots, and save themselves a lot of pain and hassle - although, as yet, the figures involved are obviously nowhere near the CD/download battleground.

Perhaps they're just making hay.......?

I think they well could be. Their cries of poor pitiful them because of piracy or rampant sharing and BS claims that ebooks cost so much to produce and serve -- and acting as if they don't save money in a gillion other ways has taught me see them as smarmy types trying to sell us snake oil.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by gmw

So what, all these years they've had you fooled that the hardcover price was about production cost? Come on, wake up and smell the marketing.

...it's not???

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

Of course. And prices certainly may reflect that; still, there's no way to justify the ebook version being more expensive than the HC one. None whatsoever. I am not saying that one star reviews are the way to handle this, but I for one can certainly understand the annoyance.

I totally agree.

See my post just above yours for the "explanation". I use scare quotes, because I don't think it's adequate.

One, they are often still making more profit off the ebook, even if it's listed at half the list price of the pbook (because of the difference in cuts), and two, the publishers know the retailer is going to discount the paper book but they won't let them discount the ebook -- so they should discount it to lower than that all by themselves.

That sounds like a sensible idea.

Seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? What's interesting is why haven't they? They already have separate star groups on some products, so it should be simple.

I think the OP is correct that Amazon is happy to see pressure put on the publisher to lower the prices. Months ago, they all but said it in a release in response to complaints that rating based on price was against their posted rules. I saw something last week saying they were starting to remove those kind of reviews, but the reviews on this books seem to belie that.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what they do. Meanwhile, I've got to go to bed - getting way too tired and chatty.

[Ron.]

The only reason to charge 14.99 for an ebook is that you don't really want to sell ebooks.

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by Piper_

It's a brand new release. They're paying a premium for that, like they would pay to see a movie at the theatre instead of waiting for the BluRay.

Except movies are not released at the cinemas and on bluray at the same time, so of course the price is justified for the cinema. Release them both at once and watch the cinemas close their doors. If the ebook was released first and 1/2/3 months down the track the hardcover, then I could understand if the ebook price was initially higher.

Unfortunately Amazon only have the power on the hardcover to reduce the price, ebooks are set by the agency, so to remain competitive in paper books it kind of short changes the ebooks.

I agree with many of the comments on Amazon, but unfortunately the rating is meant to be with the actual book itself and not a place to protest disgust in pricing. But given this has been happening recently surely the publishers will start paying attention soon.